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Physical Review A

Non-Markovian frequency conversion between optical and microwave photons with magnetomechanical transduction

Jia Tang, H. Z. Shen

Published Oct 8, 2024• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

As the main medium of quantum information, the frequency difference between optical and microwave photons is five orders of magnitude. Therefore, we generally improve the transmission efficiency of optical and microwave photons through coherent and bidirectional measures. The studies of the frequency conversion of optical and microwave photons in recent decades are all limited to Markovian approximations. In this paper we propose a scheme to achieve a two-stage frequency conversion between optical and microwave photons based on a hybrid of magnetic and mechanical excitations in non-Markovian environments. We estimate the interacting strengths under the optimal conditions of yttrium iron garnet and derive the conversion efficiency of optical and microwave photons through the scattering matrix. In all resonance modes, adjusting the defined complex cooperativities can get the conversion efficiency close to unity. The frequency conversion efficiency demonstrates a transition from Markovian to non-Markovian regimes by controlling the environmental spectral widths. This transition leads to enhancements of both the frequency conversion efficiency and conversion bandwidths, which originates from the excitation backflow obtained through the interaction between the systems and non-Markovian environments. In non-Markovian regimes, we predict that in areas with a large order of magnitude of optical pump power, the conversion bandwidths can be increased, but at the cost of a decrease in conversion efficiency, while decreasing the spectral widths can also achieve the same maximum conversion efficiency as in Markovian environments without requiring such a large optical pump power in non-Markovian regimes. Our scheme may provide an opportunity for the investigation of long-distance quantum communication for other non-Markovian quantum systems in quantum optics.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.110.043706

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As the main medium of quantum information, the frequency difference between optical and microwave photons is five orders of magnitude. Therefore, we generally improve the transmission efficiency of optical and microwave photons through coherent and bidirectional measures. The studies of the frequency conversion of optical and microwave photons in recent decades are all limited to Markovian approximations. In this paper we propose a scheme to achieve a two-stage frequency conversion between optical and microwave photons based on a hybrid of magnetic and mechanical excitations in non-Markovian environments. We estimate the interacting strengths under the optimal conditions of yttrium iron garnet and derive the conversion efficiency of optical and microwave photons through the scattering matrix. In all resonance modes, adjusting the defined complex cooperativities can get the conversion efficiency close to unity. The frequency conversion efficiency demonstrates a transition from Markovian to non-Markovian regimes by controlling the environmental spectral widths. This transition leads to enhancements of both the frequency conversion efficiency and conversion bandwidths, which originates from the excitation backflow obtained through the interaction between the systems and non-Markovian environments. In non-Markovian regimes, we predict that in areas with a large order of magnitude of optical pump power, the conversion bandwidths can be increased, but at the cost of a decrease in conversion efficiency, while decreasing the spectral widths can also achieve the same maximum conversion efficiency as in Markovian environments without requiring such a large optical pump power in non-Markovian regimes. Our scheme may provide an opportunity for the investigation of long-distance quantum communication for other non-Markovian quantum systems in quantum optics.
In this paper, we propose a scheme for frequency conversion between optical photons and microwave photons in non-Markovian environments using both magnetic and mechanical excitations as intermediate media. When the frequencies of optical photons, magnons, phonons, and microwave photons resonance, the conversion efficiency can be made close to reach 98.76%\%% by adjusting the defined complex cooperativities, while in the case of Markovian, the conversion efficiency is 90.44%\%%. By controlling the environmental spectral widths, the efficiency of frequency conversion exhibits a transition from Markovian regimes to non-Markovian regimes. This transformation simultaneously improves frequency conversion efficiency and conversion bandwidth, which is due to the excitation backflow generated by the interaction between the system and the non-Markovian environments. In the case, when the optical pump power in the non-Markovian regimes are of a large order of magnitude, the conversion bandwidth can be increased, but at the cost of reduced conversion efficiency. Our scheme improves the frequency conversion efficiency and bandwidth between optical photons and microwave photons, breaking the limitations of frequency conversion in Markovian environments and providing a new approach for long-distance quantum communication research of other non-Markovian quantum systems in quantum optics.
Developing schemes for efficient and broadband frequency conversion of quantum signals is an ongoing challenge in the field of modern quantum information. The coherent conversion between microwave and optical signals is an especially important milestone towards long-distance quantum communication. In this work, we propose a two-stage conversion protocol, employing a resonant interaction between magnetic and mechanical excitations as a mediator between microwave and optical photons. Based on estimates for the coupling strengths under optimized conditions for yttrium iron garnet, we predict close to unity conversion efficiency without the requirement of matching cooperativities. We predict a conversion bandwidth in the regions of largest efficiency of the order of magnitude of the coupling strengths that can be further increased at the expense of reduced conversion efficiency.
Abstract Coherent quantum transduction between microwave and optical signals is of great importance for long-distance quantum communication. Here we propose a novel scheme for the implementation of nonreciprocal single-photon state conversion between microwave and optical modes based on a hybrid magnonic system. A yttrium–iron–garnet (YIG) sphere with both the optomechanical and the optomagnetic properties is exploited to couple with a three-dimensional superconducting microwave resonator. The magnetostatic mode of the YIG sphere is treated as an intermediate to interact with the microwave and optical modes simultaneously. By manipulating the amplitudes and phase differences between the couplings via external driving fields, we show that the nonreciprocal microwave-light single-photon state conversion can be realized via the quantum interference effect.
Generating usable output-entanglement in continuous variable systems can serve as a viable resource for improving applications in quantum information science. In this work, we show how to generate steady-state output-entanglement in a two-stage conversion setup between optical and microwave photon which employs resonantly coupled magnetic and mechanical excitations, as proposed in Phys. Rev. Applied 18, 044059 (2022). We show that the entanglement can be maximized for the same set of parameters which optimize the frequency-conversion efficiency, and that it can be leveraged for a teleportation-based state-transfer protocol for coherent input-states with fidelity close to unity. We propose an implementation based on an Yittrium Iron Garnet disk of micrometer scale, and use both simulation results and reasonable estimates to assess the performance under optimized conditions. We find a maximum teleportation fidelity of 0.750.750.75 for the proposed setup.
In this work, an approach based on the use of yttrium iron garnet (YIG) to increase the efficiency of quantum frequency conversion has been theoretically studied. YIG, which is a ferrimagnetic insulator transparent to both microwave and optical frequencies, has a very low damping parameter. Therefore, the coupling of YIG to microwave resonator modes is very strong. It has been demonstrated that it is possible to use the spin-wave oscillations of YIG to increase essentially the coupling of microwave photons toEr3+\text{Er}^{3+}Er3+spin-flip transitions. The basic parameters of 2 -stage microwave-to-optic transduction in the proposed Erbium-YIG-based Hybrid Quantum System have been theoretically analyzed. The conditions needed for efficient coupling between magnetic resonance levels ofEr3+\text{Er}^{3+}Er3+ions and spin wave modes have been also considered.
Photons at microwave and optical frequencies are principal carriers for quantum information. While microwave photons can be effectively controlled at the local circuit level, optical photons can propagate over long distances. High-fidelity conversion between microwave and optical photons will allow the distribution of quantum states across different quantum technology nodes and enhance the scalability of hybrid quantum systems toward a future “Quantum Internet.” Despite a frequency difference of five orders of magnitude, there has been significant progress recently toward the transfer between microwave and optical photons with steadily improved efficiency in a coherent and bidirectional manner. In this review, we summarize this progress, emphasizing integrated device approaches, and provide a perspective for device implementation that enables quantum state transfer and entanglement distribution across microwave and optical domains.